The Lions gave up a last-second touchdown to Donnie Avery in Sunday's loss to the Colts. / JULIAN H. GONZALEZ/DFP

Detroit Free Press Columnist

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The Lions were one play away -- one painful, frustrating, bang-your-head-against-the-wall play -- from beating the Colts.

One interception.

One more tackle.

One more first down -- hey, here's an idea: Pass the ball to Megatron. Don't run it!

"We need to be able to make one more play," Lions coach Jim Schwartz said Monday at his weekly wake, a somber occasion in which he tries to explain at a news conference what went wrong in the latest debacle.

So how do you make plays?

This part gets really confusing and complicated, so pay attention -- you need playmakers.

And this team just doesn't have enough playmakers, especially on defense, to win close games.

Which is why the Lions are 4-8.

Give them one more playmaker, especially on defense, and everything could be different.

Woulda, coulda, shoulda

Which brings us to the 2012 draft.

In April, the Lions drafted Riley Reiff, a backup tackle, in the first round and Ryan Broyles, a wide receiver, in the second round.

Now, both picks are understandable, as you build for the future and try to accumulate a bunch of those dudes named: Mr. Best Player Available. Which is the road to long-term success. But it can bring short-term suffering.

Now, imagine if both of those picks would have been used on defense. How could things be different this season?

With the 26th pick, the Texans took Whitney Mercilus, a linebacker. Mercilus had a slow start but he has caught fire. He has five sacks, including two on Sunday against Tennessee.

How would Mercilus have helped the Lions when the defensive line was gassed in the fourth quarter?

Would he have been able to help the Lions on that final decisive play when Andrew Luck broke free to throw the game-winning pass?

The Vikings took Harrison Smith, a safety from Notre Dame, with the 29th pick. On Sunday, Smith had 11 tackles and an interception.

Meanwhile, the Lions dropped three interceptions on Sunday.

The Lions could have drafted Janoris Jenkins, a cornerback who was taken with the 39th pick by the Rams.

Jenkins has scored three touchdowns in the last two weeks, including one on Sunday against San Francisco when quarterback Colin Kaepernick botched a pitch.

Granted, it's dicey and dangerous to play "what if."

But the Lions picked a backup offensive lineman. And now they are paying for it.

The more things change...

It's pathetic how the Lions are losing. It's frustrating and exhausting and inexcusable.

But this team has talent on offense.

This is not the same-old pathetic, frustrating Lions.

This is the new-style pathetic, frustrating Lions. Because they have pieces now. Just not enough of them. Especially during crunch time.

In the middle of a frustrating season, the knee-jerk reaction is to scream: fire everybody, everybody but Calvin Johnson.

Get a new coach. Get a new GM. And start over.

But what would that accomplish? You want to spend three more years in a rebuilding mold?

If they fired the young, emotional Jim Schwartz, they probably would bring in a stoic, experienced, disciplined retread. That's how it works in the NFL. They always flip-flop coaches.

And three years from now, everybody would be calling for Mr. Stoic's head.

Yes, we have been down this road before. Way too often.

At this stage, the Lions have to stay the course.

Even if it means short-term pain.

Which is what happened on Sunday.

If there is any good news, it is this: Every time the Lions lose, they get a better draft pick. So at next year's NFL draft, I hope to goodness Mr. Best Player Available is on defense. In every single round. They need guys who can make tackles. They need guys who won't let anybody get behind them in a prevent defense. They need guys who actually can catch an interception.